bud kaeding, usac silver crown winner, tulsa, ok. 09/14/03

Bud Kaeding of Campbell, Calif. recorded his initial USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown race victory in Sunday's O'Reilly "Tulsa 100" at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Motorplex in Tulsa, Okla. Kaeding was leading when the race was halted for the second time due to track conditions and checkered flagged after 77 of the scheduled 100 laps. The race had been halted 24 laps earlier for track conditions and maintenance. J.J. Yeley finished second and emerged with a 72-point lead in the series standings with only 66 available in the series finale October 10-11 at Syracuse, N.Y.

"I had the dominant car today," admitted a happy Kaeding in victory lane. "We gambled with softer tires at the start and I was worried about them in the later laps but we never got to where I had to abuse them. We were lucky when the red came out at lap 53 because I had broken a shock and we were able to fix that. It's been a while since I've run these cars on dirt and we were really confident, so I don't think things would have changed if we'd run the full 100."

Tyler Walker, after leading the first seven laps, finished third ahead of Aaron Fike and Tracy Hines. The race was the first for the series at the reconfigured 3/4-mile dirt oval since 1980. Yeley won the pole at 108.342 mph but slipped at the start and never got back to the front. Mike Hess won the 15-lap "qualifying race" which preceded the feature event.

1. (3) Bud Kaeding, $10,000, 77.
2. (1) J.J. Yeley, $6,050, 77.
3. (2) Tyler Walker, $4,000, 77.
4. (4) Aaron Fike, $3,000, 77.
5. (6) Tracy Hines, $2,000, 77.
6. (7) Paul White, $1,800, 77.
7. (9) Jay Drake, $1,600, 77.
8. (8) Matt Westfall, $1,400, 77.
9. (17) Russ Gamester, $1,200, 77.
10. (5) Dave Darland, $1,100, 77.
11. (15) Donny Schatz, $1,000, 77.
12. (21) Mike Hess, $1,100, 77.
13. (12) Rich Tobias, Jr., $875, 76.
14. (19) Johnny Parsons, $850, 76.
15. (14) A.J. Fike, $825, 76.
16. (23) Jonathan Vennard, $800, 75.
17. (20) Ron Gregory, $775, 75.
18. (26) Murray Erickson, $750, 75.
19. (16) Larry Neighbors, $725, 73.
20. (27) Jackie Burke, $700, 73.
21. (18) Donnie Beechler, $675, Engine, 61.
22. (13) Dane Carter, $650, Engine, 42.
23. (22) Roger Rager, $625, Engine, 40.
24. (24) Brad Noffsinger, $600, Handling, 36.
25. (11) Jason McCord, $575, Accident, 24.
26. (10) Teddy Beach, $550, Suspension, 23.
27. (28) Craig Dori, $550, Handling, 22.
28. (25) Rodney Stone, $525, Handling, 8.
29 (29) Wes Miller, $525, Fuel Pump, 0.

Caution Flags: 4 for 21 laps, plus one red flag.

Lead Changes: 1 among 2 drivers.

Lap Leaders: Walker 1-7, Kaeding 8-77.

Fastest Qualifier: J.J. Yeley - 24.921 seconds - 108.342 mph.

Qualifying Race Winner: (15 laps) .Mike Hess.

Weld Racing Silver Crown Point Standings: 1. Yeley, 557; 2. Darland, 485; 3. Hines, 410; 4. Dave Steele, 432; 5. Drake, 349; 6. Walker, 339; 7. White, 314; 8. Tobias, 276; 9. Tyler, 270; 10. Aaron Fike, 249.

Next Weld Racing Silver Crown Race: October 10-11 - Syracuse, NY - New York State Fairgrounds - Ferris "Salt City 100"

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